At last life stirs from the terminal Fogeyville that is Llandudno, in the shape of a concerted effort to have a regular alternative band night of some scale. Bringing in some bands from further afield to complement the local acts that are still persevering against the constant obstacles of a lack of venue opportunities and an audience beaten into apathy, I had heard that the inaugural event had been a great success even in the heart of winter so thought I’d check out the next instalment for myself.

The place is a bit stuck out in the countryside, being a farm and everything, but this hadn’t seemed to discourage an excellent attendance. By the time I got in and had caught up with lots of beaming faces drawn out of the woodwork Terminal Voyeurs were on to their last song but that still gave me a good five minutes plus along the epic doom path they trudge. They’ve only recently formed but are already doing a fine impression of the slowed Sabbath style of the likes of Electric Wizard, it’s somewhat of a flooded genre in the wider world but hopefully they’ll be able to put their own head spin on it.

Away from the barn hall of the concert room there was also a concurrent open mike event in the bar area that was just as busy, with people spilling out into the beer garden/smoking area too. Made for a great all round atmosphere and if this continues into the warmer months you could see scope for this getting bigger again. They’d have to expand the tiny bar and reduce its lengthy queues though.

Next up on the main stage were Ugly Fashion, young punks with an old school vibe. To be fair the focus was on the frontman/guitarist as he had the energy and showmanship, plus moves perhaps culled from watching lots of videos from the snotty 70’s. There was a lot of melody in their sound but still a bit of raw randomness in their actual songs, perhaps this could be tightened up with more live experience.

Also back to the old school were Rainbow Bridge, from Old Colwyn, possibly? Bit of a mixed reaction here, as perhaps the organisers were trying to boost attendance through having an outlet more accessible/familiar covers tunes, extending the age range appeal. Unfortunately, for all their obvious musical talents churning out Pink Floyd and THAT Deep Purple song kind of defines them as dad rock, and is not particularly interesting to this dad

Before my own parenting responsibilities cut my night short I do have the pleasure of being drawn back to the main hall, via a trumpet herald, to catch some of Liverpool’s Dead Blends. The first thing that comes to mind is “Frantic!” As there’s a crazy pace to their punk which has Ska elements through the brass but also there’s a really heaviness of thrash too. There’s a bit of technical hitches/false starts but it’s all rolled through with good humour and I really enjoy the few songs I hear, the blend works and is ultimately interesting – look forward to hear more.

The night itself has also been a great mix and mixer, the next is booked for February the 5th and promises to go from strength to strength. Have some fun on the farm (animals not necessarily included)